Storm Guard
Formerly known as Systems4
Bottom line
- Total investment $209K – $248K including a $65K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $2.1M). Estimated payback in 0.6 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 31 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -7.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Storm Guard unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
108%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Storm Guard units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
35.8%
4.61× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.29×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$4.8M
on $14.0M purchase
Total debt
$9.2M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Storm Guard franchisees operate residential and commercial property damage restoration services, handling water damage, storm damage, fire restoration, and mold remediation. Franchisees manage crews, coordinate with insurance adjusters, and oversee mitigation and reconstruction projects for affected properties. Day-to-day operations include emergency response dispatch, project estimation, crew scheduling, and customer relationship management in their protected territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Storm Guard presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to anemic unit growth, absence of financial disclosures, and elevated startup costs relative to a stagnating 36-unit system.
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth at 2.9% YoY with only 36 total units indicates a mature or struggling system with minimal expansion momentum
- 02HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representations (Going Concern = False) means prospective franchisees lack verified earnings data to validate the $375,370 average net income claim
- 03MINORMinimum royalty structure creates fixed costs that may be unsustainable during slower months, particularly concerning given the modest net margins (~14% on $2.67M revenue)
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($209K-$248K) combined with slow system growth suggests difficulty in territory saturation and franchisee recruitment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
33 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Storm Guard · FDD (2025) PDF